Some Foursquare members have received an email that appeared to be from Foursquare but seemed fake or suspicious in some way. These emails, while not connected to or from us, often mimic the language and design of a Foursquare email, but could include links to phishing or spam websites and/or malicious attachments that could harm your computer if downloaded or opened.

So what should you do if you receive one of these emails?

• Forward the email to imposters@foursquare.com (& try to include the source information!**)
• Avoid clicking links or downloading attachments.
• Delete the email from your inbox.

But what is ‘phishing,’ anyway?
Scammers send phishing emails, or emails sent to large groups of people at once via addresses acquired elsewhere on the internet, in an attempt to gain access to personal information like passwords or account numbers. ‘Phishermen’ can be very tricky, and may do a darn good job of imitating our emails (they may even trick you into thinking it’s from a Foursquare email address!), but don’t be fooled — if you think something sounds not-quite-right, check the source information of the email. Somewhere in or around the email header you should find a “see original” option. Click this to find out who actually sent the message.

Note: Foursquare will never ask for your password via email, nor will we send you emails with attachments.

But why me? Where are these coming from?
These emails are not from Foursquare. Luckily, the Federal Trade Commision (FTC) made a handy guide that helps explain some of the ways these spammers are able to find your email address.

Hope that makes a bit more sense!